Free tool

What shape of key account manager are you?

Twelve statements, two minutes, no sign-in. You will see which of the three stacks you lean toward, and what that makes you good at. Then, if you like, the shape your account actually needs.

For each statement, pick the answer that is true on an ordinary Tuesday, not on your best day.

Strategistcreates
Strategic Thinker
I treat my main account as a business within a business, with a plan of its own.
Value Ambassador
I argue the customer’s case inside my own company, even against the standard way of doing things.
Innovator
I bring customers ideas they had not asked for.
Change Agent
I get my own organisation to do something different for a customer, and see it through.
Business Developersells
Rainmaker
I enjoy the chase. A contested deal gets my energy up rather than down.
Relationship Builder
I know the decision-making unit at my key account by name, and I have a sponsor there.
Influence and Negotiation
When a buyer leans on price, I hold the value of the offer rather than give ground.
Business Acumen
I can build a business case a finance director would accept, in their numbers.
Operatorcaptures
Planner
My account plan is a living document the team actually uses, not a slide from the pitch.
Team Builder
I get real commitment from people who do not report to me.
Leader and Coach
I develop the people around the account, and have the hard conversations when they are needed.
Silo-Buster
When I need something from another part of the business, I know who to ring, and they help.
Your lean
Not yet clear
Answer a statement in each stack to see it.

Twelve statements. Pick one answer for each.

Nothing you choose leaves this page unless you ask us to email it to you.

The model

Three stacks. Almost nobody sits equally in all three.

Value has to be created before it can be sold, and sold before it can be captured. The skills a key account manager needs are the human counterpart of that cycle, and most people lean, hard, toward one of the three.

Strategist

creates. Reads the customer’s world, sees the value others miss, and shapes an offer worth buying. Strategic Thinker, Value Ambassador, Innovator, Change Agent.

Business Developer

sells. Makes the case twice, to their own leadership and to the customer’s buying group, and holds the price. Rainmaker, Relationship Builder, Influence and Negotiation, Business Acumen.

Operator

captures. Delivers the promise, measures it, and keeps the account running as a living relationship. Planner, Team Builder, Leader and Coach, Silo-Buster.

Preference is what you are drawn to. Competence is how good you are. This page reads your preference in two minutes. The full KAM Tri-Skills tool measures competence, sub-skill by sub-skill, against evidence, and charts it against what your account requires.

KAM Tri-Skills · Licence

Ready to measure what this page can only glimpse?

Design the role an account needs. Assess yourself against it with evidence, not instinct. Get a line manager’s blind view. Then close the gap, rung by rung.

What the full tool adds
01Twelve sub-skills on four rungs, Foundational to Master, each backed by a concrete example.
02The required profile for your account, set from segment and situation.
03Self and line manager side by side, and a development plan with the next rung named.